Adam's Bliss
by Crazy Girl Person
Summary: Derek and Angie had done it.  GUILT was eradicated and Delphi was wiped off the map.  There was only one thing left: Adam.  Little did they know that what was to be the end, was really the beginning.  [Prequel to PtP.  Spoilers for UtK]
1. Decent To Madness

**Spoiler Warning: Spoilers for the end of Under the Knife. I mean, serious spoilers. I'm practically giving away the ending, word for word. **

Adam's Bliss

Chapter One

Decent to Madness

"_Great job, Dr. Stiles!"_

"Huh?"

Derek and Angie glanced at one another before looking around, attempting to identify the voice. Despite the volume of their seemingly omnipotent watcher, no one else appeared to have heard it. "Mission complete!" Dr. Miller exclaimed. "I'd like you to return to the deck." Derek and Angie shared another look, both perplexed at the oblivious director. "What about Adam?" Angie asked.

"We can take it from here. Let the UN handle what's left of Delphi."

"We don't know what else they were researching!" Derek exclaimed. "There could still be . ."

"What I'm about to tell you is strictly confidential." Miller said, hushing the doctor instantly. "Eidoth International was in fact run by Adam, leader of the Delphi. He was born in Austria as Erich von Raitenau . . .in 1897." He paused as Derek and Angie's mouths dropped slightly. "Nobody's seen or heard of him in over a decade, and . . .Well, do the math. If Raitenau were still alive, he'd be well over 100."

". . . What the hell?!"

"Exactly. I doubt he's still alive. The best you could hope for is some sort of journal, and we couldn't let you see top secret information. This . . . is an order."

"But, if he's dead, how could any of this - ? . . .What's that?!" Angie gasped as the voice from before slithered over their heads.

"_Your medicine serves only to alienate Man from the natural world. Only humanity would force others to live lives not their own."_

"It's Adam! He's alive!" Derek said.

"That isn't possible!" Miller tried to reason, but Derek was not easily convinced.

". . . .I'm going, Dr. Miller. I have to see the truth for myself!"

He saw Miller's mouth form words, most likely commanding Angie and himself to return to the deck or perhaps reason that Adam could not possibly be on the ship. He was not certain. What ever the Director had attempted to tell him was drowned out by the voice.

"_Is Man's hubris so great that he would violate life by prolonging it? The final stage of life is death. To deny that is foolishness. Your vast, undying civilizations will spill over into the sea . . .While the old and infirmed become a rot at Society's core."_

". . .You're insane! Father may have worked for you, but he never believed your lies!" Angie yelled, clenching her fists tightly. Miller looked at her in surprise, though his expression had gone unnoticed by the pair.

"_Man sought harmony with nature, but instead found everlasting life. . . . as a parasite, feeding off of the earth's resources. That is why mankind was blessed with disease. It is natural selection – Nature passing judgment on Man. You believe medical science will save mankind – but a surplus of humans will only destroy the world we depend on. I alone know the sole path to salvation . . ."_

"You're talking in circles. . . .This has to stop, Adam." Derek said, instantly turning and rushing off to find him. Angie followed him into the dark bowels of the ship, leaving a perplexed Miller in their wake. He lifted a hand after them, grunting in frustration and reached for his radio. It crackled in his grip, signaling that it was ready for his order. "Lieutenant Hughes, secure recovery team Delta Five. I fear we may need them."

-----

Derek ran through the darkened hallways with Angie trailing not far behind. He had no idea where he was going, but he somehow knew he was on the right track. Something was leading him straight to the heart of Delphi. He narrowed his eyes as he pressed forward, his body rigid and fast, Angie meeting his every step. His heart pounded with a mixture of fear, anxiety and rage but his mind remained focused on one task.

Find Adam.

A tiny growl rumbled in his throat, enunciated by a heavy footstep. He was vaguely aware of his increased speed and his lip curling into a snarl. The roar of their sprint rocked the empty corridors, boiling the thoughts that had lead up to this moment in his brain. Each step flickered with a mental image of the pain and suffering countless people had endured. His eyes narrowed with every picture his mind produced and each anguished emotion he relived. A closed door before him became a victim of his mounting frustration as he kicked it open. It cracked horridly against the ship's interior, his ears not so much as stung by the sickening sound. Yet, as he took but a single step through the opened passage, his tense face was pulled into a wide eyed gape.

_Wha? _

His lips drank in a heavy breath as something pressed against his skin. The strange texture caked all around his body, bleeding into his vision and stealing his previous surroundings away. Something flickered in time with his perplexed blinking, taunting him before stabbing into his vision. The gasp he ingested was pulled from him as his spine crackled and held his body stiff. A mangled, black form twitched in his eye. It scraped against a backdrop of red, seemingly pained, yet seemingly excited. Its eyes fluttered rapidly, a pearly white flashing in its skull. It slowly turned towards him. Its blinding gaze pierced him head on.

"Gah!"

The shell around him was shattered as Angie slammed against him. Both of them flailed in surprise as Derek was pitched forward, his vision of the ship returning to him. Regretfully, the first thing he saw was a descending stairwell, to which they were making a head first free fall.

_Oh crap!_

The ruckus that had swelled the halls was replaced by thuds and 'oofs' as the pair tumbled down the stairs. Derek groaned as he crashed to the floor at the bottom and lost his breath when Angie landed right on his back. She slid off of him, nursing her newly acquired bruises as Derek did the same, rubbing his forehead and pushing himself up. "Are you okay?" he muttered and she shook her head in response. "Oh . . . ow. ." She sat up slowly, rubbing a sore spot on her back. Derek had already risen to his feet and walked over to her, offering a hand. She accepted and he pulled her up.

The stairwell had led them to an even darker part of the ship. Weak red light bulbs dotted the ceiling, providing a vague outline of their surroundings. A smashed console was embedded into the wall directly across from them. The only way forward was an eerie hallway to their right. "Where exactly are we?" Angie asked after taking in their surroundings.

"Close." Derek took a step towards the hallway. He paused for a moment, the same jolt that made him stop before began churning in his stomach. Indeed, they were close. He was not about to turn back now. "Angie, stay close, and watch our backs. We don't want to be taken by surprise."

"Right."

Slowly, they crept down the hallway as quietly as possible, Angie glancing back now and then to make sure they were not followed. The ship creaked all around them as it shifted back and forth in the ocean. Derek paused for a moment and placed his hand on the wall, steadying himself as the floor beneath them tilted. He stiffened slightly, prompting a startled breath from Angie. She gave him an anxious glance and watched as his features creased. "Derek? What's wrong?"

"Shh!" he snapped quietly, titling his head forward. His face grew intense, reflecting a precursor of his Healing Touch. "Do you hear that?" he whispered.

Angie leaned forward, hearing a slight bubbling sound rustle against her ears. She gave him an uneasy glance and they continued onward, Angie continuing to check behind them. The gentle bubbles slowly grew into a loud gurgling as a green slight slithered into the hall. Derek stopped again and strained to listen for any signs of life in the chamber before them. The only sound that answered him was a pained groan from the ship's bowels. The hall trembled around them ominously, as if tempting them to turn back. The duo remained unfazed as they looked at each other. "Get ready, Angie." She nodded in response, her determination set in and matching his own.

They both readied themselves and slipped into the shadows, carefully making their way past the last curve in the hallway. The hall rumbled again, whispering a mild curse at them for ignoring its warning. A sudden, violent shift in the ocean's churning waters put and end to their stealth, as the ship was pushed into a steep lean. The incline caught them both off guard, throwing them into the chamber with a surprised yell and spilling them to the floor. As Derek fell face first into the green lit room, he was half expecting to hear the sounds of several guns cocked and aimed at Angie and him.

To his relief, the only thing he heard was that strange gurgling from before and the sound of Angie rustling to his left. He lifted his head and turned towards her, becoming entrapped by her stunned expression. She was propped up on her elbows, starring straight ahead, her eyes and mouth opened wide. Derek instantly turned forward himself, feeling his expression match that of his companion. "He's . . ." Angie started, her voice dying.

A large, rounded tank stood before them. Murky liquid swirled around the withered body of a man, which floated in a serene pose. His hair was long, silver and dead, floating stiffly around him. His skin was clammy and dark, patched by sickening green blotches. "You aren't even alive?!" Derek said, his throat bruised from his muddled words. The man certainly appeared dead, but there he was, glaring at them both with his lifeless eyes.

"_Sins are born of my mortal flesh . . .and dispersed into the world as GUILT. There, they are altered – they prosper . . .In the end, they return to me."_

"I can't even look at him . . ." Angie gasped, closing her eyes and turning away.

"_Thus, I have become the last man. I live outside this world, so as not to taint it. I alone have achieved harmony. I alone know balance."_

". . .He can't be the one speaking. Where's that voice coming from . . .?"

". . .You're not alive." Derek said, getting to his feet. His mouth pulled back into a snarl as he met those lifeless eyes, glaring back with all the intensity he could muster. "What were you hoping to accomplish!? You're already dead!"

Adam seemed unfazed by the confrontation and, if Derek did not know better, he would have sworn he smiled ever so slightly. _"There is one final GUILT . . . the one called "Bliss". Those who abandon selfish desires and follow the true way . . .will be granted this final blessing, born within me."_

"You just want to watch people die!"

The eyes that Derek beamed his death glare on disappeared, fading into a cover of pure black. He straightened up in surprise as he found his other surroundings following suit. _What the - ? It's getting dark . ._

"Medicine exists because we won't accept suffering and disease!" he shouted into the darkness, hoping to fish his enemy out of hiding.

"_I am mankind's origin. . . ." _

Derek looked around, as the voice seemed to close in on him from all directions, but he was greeted only by the thick, black curtain that surrounded him.

" _a being who accepts fate without wanting that which is not mine. Don't you see the future you are leaving for your offspring . . .? . . .Ten billion humans, fighting over a barren rock."_

"What gives you the right . .to decide who lives. . . ?" Derek coughed . . . it was getting hard to breathe.

"_Can you not see it? I am dead, yet I still live. This is the true fate of mankind."_

"You're wrong! As long as a person chooses to live, they can still bring others happiness!" He coughed again, everything was slipping away. "Dammit . . .where did he . . . ? I can't see! Where'd he go?!"

He no longer felt the floor beneath his feet. All he could feel was a sense of weightlessness, and tingling, everything was tingling . . . dissolving.

"_Dr. Stiles! Nurse Angie!"_

He thought he recognized the voice, but it seemed so distant and unreal.

"_This is Delta Five. The targets have been exposed to an airborne hallucinogen. I'm initiating an emergency recovery. Come on, Doctor. . .Stay with me!"_

-----

A/N: I am still working on _Paying the Price_. I was hoping to get it posted by today or tomorrow, but that's just not going to happen. This is probably going to be the longest chapter yet, but I'm damned determined to have it up by next week's end. Still, I wanted to give everyone something to hold them over until then.

This is sort of a prequel to _Paying the Price_. That, and I really wanted to expand on the DS ending. Speaking of which, I thought UtK had a much better ending than SO did. UtK had closure, where as SO's "ending" was more of a 'life goes on' kinda thing. Not that that's bad, but I'm really glad I played the UtK version first for that reason. UtK gave me closure and SO ensured that Derek and Angie were still doing what they do best.

Disclaimer: Trauma Center and the characters are owned by Atlus. I do this for no profit but merely for the enjoyment of myself and other fans.


	2. Invisible Blades: Kyriaki

A/N: I want to assure everyone right now that this will _**not**_ just be a novelization of the X Mission surgeries. Good heavens . . . never! We've all done the GUILT surgeries so many times – why would anyone want to _read_ about them? Will it include the surgeries? Yes – but there's much more to it!

Adam's Bliss

Chapter Two

Invisible Blades: Kyriaki

The ground stood solid and steady beneath Derek's feet. He looked around the large chamber which glowed with a sinister green. The tank was before him again, larger and taller than he remembered. Adam floated serenely within, like a king sitting upon a thrown. Derek clenched his fists and glared up at him defiantly. His gaze was met, though Adam appeared to be accepting his stare rather than resisting it.

_"This . . . is mankind's first sin." _

A silver column of light descended out of nowhere, landing on a cot. Derek looked over at it, surprised to see an unconscious person resting upon it. At that moment, he noticed there were six other cots lined up at the base of the tank, each with a person sleeping undisturbed. He was unable to determine who was resting on those beds. They remained completely shadowed out, and the green light provided only a vague outline of the figures. However, as he looked back at the spot light, he instantly recognized who was there. "Linda!"

He rushed to her side. It was unmistakably Linda Reid, his first GUILT patient. "But . . . how? I saved her! She should be. . . ." Derek growled, returning his gaze to the dead man. "You! What did you do to her!? Hasn't she suffered enough?!"

"_Man created swords to kill, and was in turn killed by swords."_

"No!" he growled. "Don't tell me . . ." He placed his fingers on her neck, feeling for a pulse. It was there, but fading fast. Her blood pressure and vitals were dropping, just like before.

"_Don't you see? Man has always sought ways to achieve death."_

"That's not true! We created many other things in order to live!" He yelled, and then turned back to Linda. "Hold on, Linda. We can beat this, again."

-----

The twilight sun spilled into the room, caressing the young girl and further lulling her to sleep. Tyler smiled as he tucked Amy in. She fell asleep easily, her petite yawns turning into deep and slow breaths. Her yawns proved to be rather contagious, and Tyler felt them stretch his jaw several times as he left her room. He shook his head, deciding to head for the break room for a cup of coffee if he wanted to survive the rest of his shift.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee greeted him as he entered the employee lounge. Cybil apparently had the same idea as she casually pressed her mug to her lips. Tyler gave her a small nod as he poured himself a cup, which she returned before they both cast their gaze to the dimming sky.

The sun dipped over the horizon, leaving a few golden rays to playfully splash in the ocean's waters. "They should be back, soon." He murmured.

"Are you worried?" Cybil asked.

"'Bout Derek?" He looked back at her, coating his words with a nonchalant shrug. "Nah, he 'n Angie'll be fine. They're the best. I do feel kinda bad for them. They're getting all these tough missions."

Cybil nodded. "I hope they'll get some time to relax after this. Those two need a break."

"Hey, I think that's them!"

They both walked closer to the window as a Caduceus owned ambulance pulled into the large parking lot, guarded on either side by security vehicles. "They brought the kids here? I thought they were going to Caduceus Europe." Cybil gave Tyler a small shrug in response just as the PA called over their heads.

"Paging all available personnel; there's been an emergency. All available personnel please report to the ambulance loading bay."

Tyler and Cybil glanced at one another, their fresh coffee soon discarded as they left the room. The previously tame hallway filled with footsteps as they made a quick walk to the elevator. The ride to the first floor was spent in uneasy silence, broken as the doors opened to the swelling chaos outside. They walked into the pulsating motion, Dr. Stephen Clarks and Nurse Leslie Sears joining them. "Does anyone know what's happening?" Leslie asked.

"No idea. I hope those kids are all right." Tyler muttered.

"It's not the children you need to be concerned about." Sidney said in a somber tone, once they had reached the loading bay. Before anyone could ask any questions, the EMT workers unloaded two gurneys. There they saw; the unconscious bodies of Derek Stiles and Angie Thompson.

-----

Derek threw on his surgical gear, sterilizing his hands and the patient's chest. He cut the incision and instantly saw the tell tale lacerations. Fluid motions poured from his hands as they worked on habit, draining the blood and suturing the wounds. Disgust festered in his brain as four slashes ripped through Linda's lung. He treated the hemorrhages as the organ was angrily slashed up before him. "Dammit. . ." he muttered as he quickly scanned the lung. "It's never been this aggressive, even in its most concentrated state. What the hell is . . .?"

Just as he sutured another laceration, more appeared and cut her vitals dangerously low. Derek grunted as he smeared the slashes to slow the bleeding while injecting a stabilizer. With his hands still slick from the healing gel, he reached for the ultrasound. "You won't get away with this." he growled. The shadows bruised against her lung tissue and he quickly scratched at them with the scalpel.

The Kyriaki twitched angrily on the surface of the lung before showing their displeasure with Linda's blood. He was prepared, following their crimson trails with a coating of the gel. His other hand already brandished the laser, drawing out a sizzle from their tiny bodies. He continued burning at them as his free hand sutured the fresh cuts. The Kyriaki flailed under the laser, grasping feebly for any mercy within the surgeon to spare them. Their efforts were in vain and, in fact, only fueled Derek's desire to end the narcissistic parasites.

In the wake of their deaths, he began patching up the damage they had wreaked. Derek kept the ultrasound at hand, knowing their friends would not wish for their legacy to be erased. He worked quickly in hopes of preparing a cleaner battlefield. Regretfully, the remaining pack was quick to revolt before he was even halfway finished. He hissed as Linda's vitals fluttered.

"I won't let you take her!" he murmured to them. He fought the hemorrhaging back, working to keep as much blood in her as her signs continued to slip. "Don't you quit on me, Linda!" His muscles protested slightly as he strained them, pushing to suture and clean the wounds as fast as he could. As her bleeding subsided, he reached for the ultrasound and located two Kyriaki. He slashed them out with the knife, following their initial cuts with the suturing tool. Tossing the stitches onto the tray beside him, he lifted the laser while his right hand continued massaging the bleeding lacerations with the gel. The heat beam glared upon the parasites and left them struggling under its intense stare. Their bodies soon met the fate of their predecessors but Derek did not pause to mourn them.

"All right, four down. How many more are there?"

Derek tossed his offensive tools on the surgical tray, working now to treat the bleeding and raise her vitals. He grimaced at a large patch of cuts that bunched together. "This is where her blood loss is the most critical." he muttered. "Okay, no problem. Clean the wounds to prevent an infection and keep pressure on them with fresh gauze to stop the bleeding." He sighed and did just that. Flushing the bloody lacerations with saline, he drained the excess liquid and smeared another coating of antibiotic gel on them. He pressed a clean patch of gauze onto the wounds to slow the bleeding while he searched for the remaining parasites.

"There you are!"

Derek stood ready with the ultra sound, his other hand pressing into the mass of lacerations. Three cuts had appeared in another part of Linda's lung and he was quick to sweep it with the scanner. He quickly traded it for his scalpel when the three offending parasites visibly swam through the organ. With a quick series of cuts, a laser replaced his knife and the smell of fried Kyriaki tingled in his nostrils. "Good riddance." he growled. "Only one to go."

First things first, of course. Derek cleaned the fresh wounds and sutured them before turning his attention to the moist gauze under his left hand. He hissed slightly as it reluctantly peeled from the butchered tissue. A mild suction tugged against his fingers as the sickening noise from it cringed his shoulders. He tossed the bloody cloth aside and got a fresh one as he cleaned the wounds again. He took a breath as he quickly sutured, half expecting the parent Kyriaki to attack in the midst of it.

Derek took a glance at Linda's blood pressure. "Dammit. It's still dropping too much." He injected another syringe of adrenaline and a shot of saline for the blood loss, all while his right hand continued suturing. Aw, the blessings of being ambidextrous.

Soon the lung was stitched up and a lot less bloody, but the parent Kyriaki was not about to let that last. She expressed her anguish at her lost children savagely. Derek had the gel and stitches at the ready when she made her three lined star, but she cut across with a forth line for good measure. He smeared the gel over the organ without discretion as he sutured one of the diagonal cuts. He traded the stitches for the ultra sound and began his scan. He found her quickly, moving in with the scalpel as his other hand continued disinfecting the cuts. A quick slice left her writhing on the surface and trailing another slash behind her.

His fingers moved to heal the small incision he made while his free hand reached for the laser. A small buzz of her burning body sweetly played against his ears, until something he did not expect happened.

"Gah! It's after me!?"

Sure enough, rather than dive back into the organ as the mother Kyriaki had usually done, she made a beeline to where Derek's free hand was spreading gel on the lacerations. She flicked her tail, hoping to nick the surgeon's fingers. Derek quickly withdrew his hand and blinked in surprise. Even after the attack, she did not dive back into the surface, preferring to wriggle about in the blood soaked injuries she created. "That's it! You're dead, you little . . ." Derek growled, aiming his laser on the parasite again. Kyriaki had other plans, quickly swimming from her small blood bath to tear another slash in Linda's lung. She did not stop there. A panicked gasp escaped Derek as she began slicing up the organ erratically, coloring it red and pulling down the teenage girl's vitals. "Dammit! Linda!"

Narrowing his eyes, Derek traced his Healing Touch. Everything around him turned grey, save for the devilish red of her blood. The laser was long discarded for the drain and the pooling blood was quickly pumped from the chest cavity. He quickly smeared another coat of healing gel on her lacerations once they were visible. The drain was tossed for the stitches, and Derek feverishly fought against the blood loss. Too worried about his patient bleeding out, he did not notice the small red line sneaking up on him until a sharp pain burned through his right index finger.

"Ah! Damn, little bastard . . ."

Derek reached for a small piece of gauze to bandage his finger. He quickly wrapped it up, deciding to go on the offensive as well. Anger brewed in him as he zapped at the fleeing parasite. He had gotten a few burns into her body, but his victory would be hollow if Linda died on him first. He switched out for his healing tools, trying to suture and gel with one hand while his other stood by with the laser. Kyriaki tried to slash him again, but a quick zap from the laser deterred her.

Derek grinned slightly as he appeared to have gained some footing. That notion was quickly thrown off, as the cut on his finger vomited a searing, dizzying sensation into his veins. "Ugh . ." Derek groaned slightly as the floor shifted violently under his feet. Biting his lip, he forced the room to stop spinning, but it was of no use. "No. . ."

His surroundings soon became as fluid as the blood on his gloves, swirling into an abstract splash of color. "Linda . . . I can't . . ." A shuddering breath escaped him as complete darkness overtook him.

-----

Derek took in a sharp gasp, his body bolting up right the moment his eyes opened. "Where . . . where am I? What the . .?!" he gasped as he looked down at the scrubs that covered him. Rather than finding his body decked in a light blue with the Caduceus symbol stamped proudly over his heart, his scrubs were a plain green. In place of the emblem, a photo ID was clipped on his chest – the very same one from Hope Hospital.

_Hope Hospital? It can't be!_

Taking a look at the bed he sat upon, he did recognize it as the standard model the hospital used. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and looked at the floor. His mahogany tinted reflection stared back at him, crisp and clear in the polished tiles.

"This doesn't make sense! How did I get here? What happened to . . .?"

His musings were interrupted by a strong gust of air crashing into his body, stirring his hair and clothes violently. Startled from the abrupt chill, he hunched his shoulders and huddled for warmth. A silent cry seemed to emit from the room's walls as the curtains, blankets and various papers were whipped about. Just as suddenly as the dancing column of wind appeared, it poured out through the door, carving a jet that gently tugged at his hair before dying completely.

Derek blinked, feeling his naturally unruly hair tangled to a whole new level of disorder. As if he did not have enough trouble keeping it neat as it was.

"What, the hell, was that?"

He looked over at the window and saw that it was closed securely. The air conditioner would have hummed loudly had it been the culprit, but it was completely silent. In fact, everything seemed silent.

Derek looked towards the open door. The hospital was usually brimming with murmurs of doctors and nurses checking on patients. Occasionally, one could hear the sharp beeps of an electrocardiograph or the PA would descend loudly over everyone's heads. But now . . . nothing.

His shoes clicked powerfully against the tiled floor as he stepped from the bed. He walked to the hallway and scanned his eyes left and right. Grey afternoon light spilled in through the windows, hinting that the day was slightly overcast. Yet, there were no doctors or visitors moving about in the filtered sun. Not a single chirp sounded from the birds outside.

"Hello?" he called. His lone voice was deafening against the silence. He could hear his soft echo from the distant corners of the floor, but nothing stirred.

He sighed and aimlessly began wandering the halls.

-----

"Apparently they'd both been hit with a rather potent hallucinogen."

Sidney and Dr. Hoffman briskly walked down the hall. Both men held a cold, grim look on their faces, neither directing their narrowed glances at one another as they spoke. "The recovery team gave them oxygen immediately, tried to revive them, but they've remained comatose since they were removed from the chamber." Hoffman continued.

"Any word on what they found?"

"None. The British Navy's classified it as confidential. They won't say a word."

Sidney slimmed his eyes. "They will. I'll make sure of it."

They approached an emergency recovery room. Dim light softly washed the walls and hushed murmurs bubbled within. Beeps from the machines occasionally cut through the otherwise serene atmosphere as they entered and gazed at the unlikely patients. Derek and Angie were completely motionless, save for the slow and shallow rise of their chests. Oxygen masks had been placed on both of them, as well as pulse monitors and IVs. The medical accessories only accented their startlingly pale complexions. Even Angie's light blonde hair seemed to stand out against her faint skin.

"How are they doing?" Sidney asked.

"They're stable . . . and that's about it." Tyler replied, running a hand through his locks. His other hand was pressed firmly into his hip, supporting his exhausted torso. After all that had happened, the last thing he had wanted to see was his best friend and his assistant in such a state.

"Derek's numbers have been fluctuating a bit, sir." Dr. Clarks sat up from the stool he had been perched on as Sidney and Hoffman drew their gazes on him. "His vitals have remained in the low 70's and he doesn't appear to be in any danger, but this pattern . . ."

They crossed over to where the surgeon stood, taking in the unusual readings the machine displayed. A thin scowl parted Sidney's lips, the tension in his eyes shaping them to match the rims of his glasses. "Did you order a Chiron test?"

"We did. The chiral reaction was negative. We took a blood sample and Victor's analyzing it right now."

"As for Angie?"

"No changes in her vitals or readings. We've ordered a Chiron test for her, just to be on the safe side."

Sidney pushed his glasses to his face. "I want both Dr. Stiles and Nurse Thompson watched around the clock. Report any changes in their condition to me immediately."

"Understood."

-----

A light gust ruffled his hair again. Instinctively, he snapped his head up, catching small glimpse of movement down the hall. It was silent, and had vanished behind a corner before he could get a good look at it, but it was a welcome change to the ghostly hallways. "Hey! Who's there?" he called after it. The volume of his voice briefly masked his steps as he launched into a sprint.

He felt the wind quickly thin to nothing, but it had left a trail of fluttering curtains and wall charts for him to follow. So he did, but not for long. He had only turned a few corners when it happened. Something tilted and flat pressed against the sole of his left shoe as he stepped on it. It rolled slightly under his foot, causing his balance to wane as his right foot swept into a certain something else. "Gah!" Derek flailed his arms slightly, realizing that his fall was inevitable.

He held his hands out to catch himself, but much to his surprise (and dismay) his palms slipped. Derek allowed a brief second to mentally vent his frustration before his body slammed against the floor.

"Ugh . . ." Derek groaned and cradled his chest lightly. He felt warm moisture soak into his clothes, but oddly enough the floor looked completely dry. He pushed himself up, quivering slightly as his hands threatened to slip against the wet tiles again. "What is going on?" He looked at his hands, clearly feeling some form of liquid dripping from his fingers. He could also feel the front of his uniform clinging to his skin. Yet, a quick examination of both palms and clothes revealed nothing.

Unable to string a coherent thought, Derek rose to sit on his heels, feeling something press into his ankles – most likely the thing that had tripped him. Rising completely, he felt a burst of frustration. He looked down at his feet, seeing nothing but his irate reflection glaring back at him. "Arg! Am I loosing my mind or something!?"

He reared his foot back and kicked out, his anger quickly turning to confusion as he heard scraping against the floor. The sound gradually hissed to silence just a few feet from where he stood. Blinking, Derek scanned the floor, again seeing nothing other than the floor itself. His shoulders sunk as he let out a sigh. "Maybe I really _am_ loosing my mind."

Curiously, he stared where he had last heard the scraping sound come from. Nothing was there, of course, but he _had _clearly felt something press against his ankles, and hit his foot when he kicked. He walked towards the spot, slowing as he approached and feeling out with his foot. A tiny splash sounded with each prod of his toes.

There he felt it. His foot was met with a heavy weight that rolled slightly under his shoe. He placed his foot just before it, reaching out for the invisible object. A rough surface met his fingertips, rounding off into something of a cylinder. Derek wrapped his hand around it, surprised by the off balance weight of the object, though it was not that which made him gasp and let go of it immediately.

Still knelt and leaning back, Derek blinked at the blank spot on the floor, his fingers gnarled as though it had burned him. "That wasn't really . . . that . . ." he mumbled before forcing his lips to seal. The incoherent babbles continued in his mind as he slowly reached his hand out again. He gripped the object, his jumbled thoughts hushing as it turned visible at his touch.

"A . . . sword?"

A katana, to be precise. Sure enough, the weapon was clutched tightly in the doctor's hand. "Where in the world did . . . ah!" He retracted his hand again, the katana turning invisible, as did the blood on its blade. The shock this time around was enough to send him to his feet and stepping back a few good five or six paces. The unseen splashes under his feet further added to his panic. He looked down at his seemingly clean and dry scrubs, feeling moist patches clinging to his skin. "What is going on?!"

Distressed heaves pushed his chest out rapidly. He gritted his teeth, trying to filter his breathing as he pressed his hands to his head. "Calm down, calm down! Panicking will get me nowhere." he said, forcing his breath to slow. He looked back at where his grim discovery laid, his curiosity perked in spite of it. This was hardly what he had been hoping to find. Though he could not exactly say it was better than finding nothing, he could not pretend he had not seen it.

Well, he could still _hope_ that what he saw was not real.

He slowly moved back to where the sword lay, kneeling down and feeling out for it. His fingers recoiled as he touched it, but he forced his hand around it with an annoyed breath. The katana appeared in his grip again. Its visibility soaked outward from his hand, much like the blood stains that cast crimson spots on his scrubs. His teeth grit as he watched a winding river turn from a transparent red to a thick scarlet beneath his feet. The bloody trail stretched down the hall, forking both directions at the split end of the corridor.

Derek slowly pushed himself to his feet, the katana lowered and trembling at his side. Though his gaze was locked onto his drenched clothes, the blade of the weapon shone in the corner of his vision as the shaking movement flung the coating of blood from it. He looked at it with a sick feeling in his stomach. "Who does this belong to?" his voice quivered. "Who did they . . . kill?"

His eyes were pulled up from the blade as a flash of lavender moved down the hallway. His head snapped up, accompanied by a gust that tossed his bangs. "Hey!" he shouted, the volume of his voice stinging his ears slightly. That was quickly forgotten as he ran after the strange purple blur. He nearly lost it when he turned a corner and it disappeared around another, but the flutter of curtains and bloody footprints determined otherwise.

The intensity of the wind around him picked up and he pushed his body to move faster, feeling as though he was on its tail. Yet, as Derek turned another corner, he stopped along with the wind which trickled into nothing around him.

Derek blinked as he looked toward the robed figure at the end of the hall. Though seemingly cornered, she stood calmly. Her thick pink bangs curtained the top half of her face while the rest of her hair was pulled into a high ponytail. He noticed a sheath at her hip, sending a startled jolt through him.

"Wh-who are you?" he called out. "Is . . . this your sword?"

Though her movements were slow, Derek could not help but skitter back as she lifted her head towards him. He thought he saw the shimmer of her eyes as her bangs shifted, but his attention was focused on her odd complexion. "Her skin . . . is purple?" he murmured to himself, cut off as she rushed towards him. She quickly closed the space between them before he could liberate his fear gripped body. He flinched and braced himself for some form of attack. Having anticipated pain, he was caught quite off guard when her face came close to his and stroked it with a warm touch.

She was kissing him.

She nearly drank in his breath, leaving him lightheaded as she held him to the wall. Derek could feel every soft curve of her body press against his. The lavender color of her skin penetrated his widened eyes and, if she had a nose, he was sure they would be touching. Her lips were as soft as her strangely colored face looked, pillowing his mouth as she slipped her tongue in. She placed her hands on his hips and rocked their bodies together.

_Oh . . . God . . ._

Her yellow, almond shaped eyes flashed mischievously as she felt him quiver. She gingerly placed a hand around his wrist and massaged it in soothing circles. Though taken aback by the forward move, Derek was wary as she began stroking his knuckles. He tightened his grip on the sword just as her fingers moved to pry it from his grasp. The rest of her body retained a gentle caress even as her hand twisted to free the weapon. As abruptly as it started, she ended the struggle and moved her hand to cup his cheek.

She slowly pulled back, licking his lips as she slipped her tongue through them. The devilish smile appeared on her face. Her eyes flashed as sharp as the sword he held.

"_You'll pay for the death of my children. Every curve of my body will be dyed with the color of your blood. Yours and this girl's." _

Derek froze as the voiceless words carved in his mind.

"You're . . . Kyriaki?!"

She smiled sweetly as she nodded, rearing her sheath back and ramming him in the stomach. The blow purged his lungs completely and sent a numbing twitch through his body. The katana dropped from his grasp and instantly turned translucent, as did the personified parasite before him.

_Crap!_

Derek took in the breath stolen from him, pushing her off of him. He shot his hand out at the paling weapon, its color returning as he gripped it tightly. He looked back over at Kyriaki as her features solidified as well. Backing away, he felt her eyes stab into his. She simply glanced at him, unmoving at first, aside from taking a pivot to face him completely. Her smile never dipped as she raised her arms, upturning her palms.

She held the calm pose for only a moment, ending its serenity with a faint twitch of her fingers. Long, sharp nails protruded from the tips of them. Her lips peeled back to reveal a set of equally menacing teeth. The softness of her face melted, her cheekbones pointing from under her skin. The angular and thin face perfectly framed her eyes, which had grown narrowed and sharp.

Any further transformation she went through was unseen by Derek, as he was quick to decide he did not want to stick around.

He sprinted down the hall, arching his back slightly as he felt her take pursuit. The column of wind started up as she made chase and pricked at the back of his neck. Heart in his throat, Derek flung himself towards a storage room at the end of the hall. He slammed the door behind him and locked it, holding onto the door knob to keep it closed. He had only gotten a glimpse of her newly distorted form, but it was enough to make him shudder.

"Gah!"

A tiny spray of wood chips flew from the door as Kyriaki's nails burst through, missing his stomach by a margin. Gasping, Derek stumbled back and tossed his glance about. What little light that filtered through the door frame only outlined various cleaning supplies. His attention was brought back to the door or, more specifically, the claws that were still thrust through and pulling at it.

"Yeah, good idea, Derek! Run into a small storage closet with no way out!"

Fear rising as the yanks on the door grew more irate, Derek looked at the katana in his shaking hand. Gulping, he threw his gaze between it and the claws as he slowly drew the sword before him, holding it with both hands and pressing his back to the wall. There he waited, katana raised in a clumsy guard. Kyriaki was all but slamming the door as she pulled on it. A high pitched shriek sounded on the other side as she kicked her foot against it. A short cry escaped him and he closed his eyes, the katana trembling even more in his hands.

He expected to hear the door being ripped from its hinges and muffle of her screams to cease. Yet, as Derek slowly peeled his eyes open to see why that had not happened, he realized the cause of her frustration. Her claws were stuck.

"Hehehe . . ." the nervous chuckles rattled his throat, coating his heart with something of relief.

Derek lowered the blade and slowly approached the door knob, keeping his body clear of the nails. He leaned in carefully and unlocked the door. Taking a breath, he quickly turned the knob and kicked it open.

The crack of the door against Kyriaki's forehead was his only warning as her pained scream filled the air. The volume of her voice pierced his ears, further propelling him as he rushed through the windswept hall. With a titanic yell, the crackling of wood broke through the air.

He hunched his shoulders as splinters and chunks of wood spiraled in the wind. He took a look back and felt the bottom of his stomach drop. Fear was stabbed into his heart as her crazed and blood shot eyes locked with his. He threw his glance forward, rounding the corner and pushing his body for all it was worth as he heard Kyriaki close in on him. The increasing winds on his back nudged into him as he felt her hand strike out.

Derek clumsily dodged it, leaving him off balance and unable to evade her second attack. A pain driven cry from his throat scratched out, folding his legs underneath him and sending him into a face first plummet. The spasm from the attack shot his right hand out, sending the katana from his grasp. His pain and fall were forgotten as his mind slowed, watching the weapon spiral away from his outstretched fingers.

Kyriaki overstepped him as his front side splashed against the blood on the floor and ran for the katana, all three of them slowly dissolving from his sight. The last thing he saw was her reclaiming the sword before they faded completely. Derek quickly pushed himself back up to his feet as his pulse and breath accelerated, placing a trembling hand over his bleeding torso. "Dammit . . . she could be anywhere - oh no . ."

A soft bending of light blurred before him, quickly closing into him.

"That's . . . aaarrhhh!"

His shoulder burned as a shallow cut scraped across it. A body slam followed the attack before he could as much as cradle his new wound. Kyriaki tackled him, holding him to the floor and pulling his hands over his head. He felt her lips descend upon his, sealing his murmurs of pain. Now, he was glad for her invisibility.

_What is wrong with you? What are you doing!?_

Derek's already split eyes widened as her soundless voice slithered through his mind again.

"_I'm going to toy with you, prolong your suffering just as you had done to my children and sisters. That includes tasting your flavors . . ."_

His scrubs were ripped open, exposing his bare torso. In spite of his pain and situation, he could not help but blush as he felt her now short-nailed hands pad and prod him. _This is disturbing . . . on so many levels . . ._

Kyriaki released his mouth from the kiss, prompting him to gasp for breath as she moved to suckle at his neck. Derek leaned his head back, staring mindlessly at an intensive care unit down the hall. Various medical equipment lined the sun washed walls and a gasp over took him. He stared into the unit, scanning the machines with his eyes before he narrowed them.

Derek drew his knees into his chest, grunting as the motion aggravated his injuries but not pausing for a second. He wedged Kyriaki's form off of him and further punted her away with his feet. With her weight lifted from him, he scrambled to his feet and rushed for the ICU.

His eyes immediately locked with a defibrillator on the far side of the room as he entered. He ran for it, all but diving as he felt the wind pick up around him. His fingers barely grazed the switch of the machine as a bony set of fingers wrapped around his ankle. Derek yelled slightly upon impact with the floor and scratched his fingers into the tiles. A small wheeled stool was situated beside the defibrillator, just inches from his reach. He dug his free foot into the floor, pushing himself forward and dragging Kyriaki with him.

Grabbing the leg of the stool, he twisted his body towards the invisible parasite. "Let me go!" He flung the stool at her, hearing her harpy scream as she released his ankle. Rushing to his feet, he grabbed the paddles and frantically began running them together. He pressed his back to the wall and strained his eyes to make out her vague imprint. The distorted light quickly rushed before him, too fast for his eyes to follow.

He quickly called forth his Healing Touch, straining his eyes as a sheet of grey pulled over them. Kyriaki's vague bubble floated to his right. He turned towards it, gasping as a shapeless appendage of it swung out and towards him. He threw himself back, nearly losing his balance as the tip of the katana swiped right under his nose.

Derek stumbled and hit his back against the defibrillator. He was thrown into a slight forward pitch, the slow swirling light all but right in front of him. He pulled back the paddles and thrust them forward, the voltage igniting the outline of Kyriaki's body. Derek turned his head away, reeling from the static and high pitched screech, but continued pressing on with his attack.

When he no longer heard her screams, he pulled the paddles away, preemptively rubbing them together. He stopped when he looked back at her. Kyriaki's form was now a very visible crisp and rigid black. Tiny whimpers of pain escaped as her brittle flesh crumbled, leaving a pile of ashes and cartilage. He looked at her remains, breathing heavily as the paddles slipped through his fingers.

"Whew . . . she's gone. I . . ." Derek's words slurred off as he pressed a hand to his chest. A dizzying grip pulled on his head, pitching him forward and into darkness.

-----

Derek blinked his eyes slowly as he teetered on his feet, his flesh churning beneath his skin. The subtle green glow of the chamber walls blurred into his vision and slowly came into focus. He balanced himself and shook his head, his eyes shooting open.

"Linda!"

Her vitals were at a slim 5 with the blood pooling in her lungs again. He furiously moved in to drain the blood and treat the cuts, making full use of his speed and dexterity. Minutes later found him starring at the sutured and cleaned lung. He looked at Linda's vitals, taking in several gasps when he realized just how close she came to slipping away.

"Dammit, Linda, don't scare me like that." he murmured and checked her chiral reaction. Negative. "Thank God . . ."

He closed her up, the thoughts of his encounter with Kyriaki befuddling him. "What _was_ that? Did I pass out or hallucinate or . . . what?" Derek cast a glance at the girl's face as he bandaged her stitches. Her skin was paler than he would have cared for, but she appeared to be resting peacefully. He sighed and drew the sheet up to her chin. "She's safe. That's all that matters."

He took a moment to examine his body. The injuries were gone, but his flesh squirmed uncomfortably where they had been. He rubbed his shoulder in hopes of massaging the painless twinges out when he noticed the same feeling in his finger. Pulling off his glove, he saw that the nick on his finger had healed. "Huh . . ."

_"Your skills have given birth to many lives which never should have been."_

Derek's perplexed expression quickly tightened as he looked up.

"_. . . They are your GUILT. . ."_

Adam floated just as calm and serene as ever, sparking the surgeon's anger further. "I don't have any guilt!" Derek yelled and clenched his fists. "And I don't care what mind games you try to play with me!" He glared at the man in the tank. A shudder bit his spine as the cold, dead eyes locked with his, but he refused to back down.

"I'm going to save these people!"

-----

A/N: Weird? Maybe, but as I stated I wasn't about to just let this story be about the seven GUILT operations. So, I decided to make things . . . interesting. Thus, Derek has the Kyriaki strain of GUILT making out with him and sexy times were had – before her transformation that is.

I hope I didn't make any of you think Derek was suddenly going to get samurai skills and have an epic sword fight.

Yeah, _that'll_ be the day.

As much as I love the guy, he's kind of clumsy. I'm sure he could rock some socks at video games, like _Way of the Samurai_, but in real life? No way. He'd probably drop it or send it flying into a tree. Hehehe . . .

Stick to your profession, Stiles! You're a surgeon, not a swordsman.


	3. Creeping Tumors: Deftera

A/N: Ya know what? I'm tired of referring to Dr. Clarks as . . . well . . . Dr. Clarks. His name is Stephen, dammit, and that is how he shall be known! I'll still refer to him as 'Dr. Clarks' in some instances so that people don't get confused. That being said, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.

Adam's Bliss

Chapter Three

Creeping Tumors: Deftera

_"Man crawls on the earth like vermin, breeding and fighting for eternity."_

Derek looked over at the second cot, his body growing stiff with rage as the silver light poured onto the figure. Amy Chase lay in a fitful slumber on the bed, her skin pale and cheeks stained purple from a lack of oxygen. "She's just a little girl." he hissed through his teeth.

"_Yet you dare judge them . . . You who lost the will to die properly."_

"What's that even supposed to mean!?" he yelled. He forced himself to swallow the rage that burned his throat, letting out his frustration in a quick breath. Shouting would get him no where. At the very least, it could wait until his patient was saved.

Derek slipped on a clean mask and pair of gloves. He quickly smeared a trail of gel on Amy's stomach, following it with the scalpel. Horridly colored tumors dotted the organ. He incinerated them with the laser, the Deftera drawn from hiding as he burned the final one away. He watched the twirling drops of red and blue swim through the stomach. Had they not been so deadly, their dance would have almost been beautiful.

Their small ballet did nothing to soften Derek's heart. He stood with the suction tool at the ready, watching them thrash into one another. He quickly drained at the pulsating indigo splotch. The color of their violent meeting faded slightly as he drained before they broke apart, swimming away to recover.

_So, what are these guys going to do?_ Derek thought. _Are they going to attack like Kyriaki, or will it be more of the same?_

The dulled botches continued swimming, giving him a chance to raise the vitals as a precaution. He finished with the syringe just in time. They attacked one another again, leaving him free to drain at them once more. Still locked in combat, their bodies had turned a contrasting set of peppered grey. They began throbbing erratically and Derek reached for his scalpel. Pale yellow and violet dots appeared on the stomach, rapidly bringing down Amy's vitals. He quickly sliced them out, pinching them with his forceps and dropping them in the waste tray.

"That was it?" he mumbled as he placed a carbon patch over the wound.

He sealed the patch and treated the tumors before suturing the stomach. "I'll have to be careful. I have a feeling things are going to be much more difficult in the lungs." He disinfected and bandaged the incision, taking a moment to stabilize her before moving to the chest.

After cleaning his tools, he opened her chest and saw two pairs of red and blue Deftera. More tumors were left behind in their paths and he burned them away. The blue pair whirled together, creating another batch of tumors that cut the girl's vitals. He burned them as he spread a line of gel on the lung. Both sets of Deftera repelled from it, only to bump into another line he smeared. He boxed them in, attempting to steer the red and blue into each other, but one of the blues had managed to squirm away. With its partner trapped, the blue Deftera zipped quickly around the lung.

Derek paid it no mind as he retraced the fading lines of gel, slowly drawing the circle closer to leave the blue at the mercy of one of the reds. Just as it appeared as though one of the reds would strike, the fleeing blue returned. Both it and its partner bumped into the line where Derek's fingers currently were, coating his hand in an icy breath and forcing his eyes to close under the frigid bite.

-----

The sound of a sharp ding startled him.

Derek opened his eyes just in time to see the elevator doors part for him. He saw his faint reflection in the large window across from him, a soft emerald flow from the shiny floor bouncing off of it. "Caduceus." he murmured.

He stepped into the large hall, the same eerie quiet greeting him. Night had since fallen upon Angeles Bay as indicated by the dark sky. A silver half moon hung over the horizon, its subtle glow put to shame by the fluorescent lights above him. Caduceus was hardly a place that knew silence regardless of the hour. Derek groaned, having a sinking feeling of what awaited him given his previous situation. A meeting with a personified parasite was something he did not want to experience again, but from the look of things, he did not have much of a choice.

"Better get this over with . . ." he sighed, setting off hopeful that he would be ready for whatever he came across.

After twenty minutes of searching, Derek decided that he was really getting tired of the sound of his foot steps. That, and the sound of his aggravated sigh. Being the only things he had heard in that time, he was taken by surprise to hear breathing from beyond a curve in the hallway.

He slowly moved towards the wall, quieting his own breath as he stuck to the shadows. The hushed whispers continued accompanied by soft clicks against the floor. _Two of them it sounds like . . . could this be it?_

Derek pressed himself to the wall as he crept towards the noise. A soft blue light poured onto the opposite wall, bobbing with the sound of movement. He arched his brow as he continued, pushing his back against a pillar and slowly peaking out from behind it. He blinked slightly in response to the light, fluttering his eyes as they adjusted. His eyes focused quickly, cause his mouth to drop slightly.

"That's Deftera?"

Derek quickly ducked back behind the pillar, slapping his hands over his mouth and cursing himself mentally. The whispers stopped and soft footsteps padded towards him. He pressed himself into the wall as best he could, holding his breath while the blue light spilled over the floor. The footsteps drew closer, stopping to pivot back in the opposite direction. An intelligible voice sang out, receiving a lower pitch in response. Another set of footsteps moved away.

Derek slowly drew his fingers from his mouth, relaxing slightly until he heard the steps pivot again. He tensed as the glow touched him and sent a chill through his body. The sharp icy shade of the figure stung eyes again when it stepped before him. He winced, taking a closer look at it when it no longer hurt to do so.

A pearl white cloak lined with sapphire trims draped her thin frame. Cobalt hair ran just past her shoulders and her body was much closer to that of a human's than Kyriaki, the only difference in her unnatural colors and inexplicable glow.

Derek stiffened as she turned and met her deep blue eyes. Her aura ate away at the shadows, ensuring that he had no means of hiding from her. She looked at him, surprising him with a soft smile. The blue shade of her cheeks deepened as she turned away, bashfully watching him from the corner of her eyes.

Still pressed firmly against the wall, his eye brows lifted by the look she gave him, but he grew rigid as she approached. He threw his glance around and found nothing in the barren hallways to protect himself with. He rummaged through the medical pack on his hip, his search interrupted as her cool fingers came to rest on his shoulders.

He barely took in the pure stare of her eyes when his lips were engulfed by hers.

_Not again . . ._

The less than desirable images of his time with Kyriaki flashed in his mind, almost distracting him from the sweet mist she breathed in his mouth. He stopped as it caressed his tongue for a moment, but the image of Kyriaki's deformed face quickly deluded it.

He grabbed a random tool from his med back and struck. A soft buzz broke the silence, followed by a tiny squeak from the blue girl.

She pulled back, her eyes wide and confused as she looked between him and her elbow – where he burned her with his laser.

Derek brandished the tool, raising it as he snarled. "You're not fooling me." He pressed a small button on the laser. Another short zap sounded from it, causing her to jump back a few steps. She blinked helplessly at him, her eyes shining as they pooled with tears. "Drop the act." he growled. He pressed forward in spite of her hurtful look.

"I don't care how you look. I know what you are."

Rushed footsteps boomed down the hall. He saw the woman's eyes widen before he turned, feeling his eyes grow as well.

"Ah crap . . ."

Another figure haloed by the blue aura appeared, this time a man. The shades of his clothes and skin matched those of his female companion, though the sleeves were absent from his shirt to reveal a pair of powerful arms. His hair was tied back, doing nothing to hide his snarl. He pulled his arm back and drew a beam on the surgeon. Derek, on the other hand, had his gaze locked with the fist which began to glow.

"Urk . . ."

Derek rushed past the woman as he heard something blast behind him. A cold jet brushed his shoulder and sprayed an icy blast against the wall. He paled and tightened his sprint, barely dodging another blast he felt rush for him. The large window pane shattered as he ran by it, sprinkling shards of cold glass down on him. He stiffened as a particularly large piece spiraled by his ear. Seeking shelter from the jagged rain, he ran through a stairwell entrance and flew up the steps, not slowing until several fights were put behind him and his legs nearly gave out under him.

He propped himself against the wall and struggled to catch his breath. "Great . . . ice wizards . . ." he groaned and slid down. "As if a perverted, samurai monster wasn't enough." Having slid to his back, Derek allowed his body to sprawl on the floor as he stared at the ceiling with exhausted contempt. One ice flinging mage was more than he felt he could chew. Two was, in his opinion, beyond cruel. Then, Derek's stomach twisted, recalling that he had another pair of Deftera to think about.

If the blue Deftera were ice elements, he had a sinking feeling he knew what the red Deftera would be. He took in another labored breath from his run, not caring how immature he sounded as he allowed himself to whine.

"Why me?"

-----

Derek slowly crept down the halls with a fire extinguisher lowered at his side. Perhaps not the best weapon against two fire wielding personified viruses but he had not much choice but to take what he was given. There were doubts of course. His assumption that the red Deftera pair would be fire elementals could be wrong, and he did not have a clue how to go up against the blue set. For now, his focus was on scoping out his situation and trying not to get killed.

His musings were broken by a rapidly twitching glow from down the hall. A small brush of warmth touched his skin coupled with the orange red tint of the light. The grip on the extinguisher tightened as he quietly slipped into an open room. He ducked behind the door and peered through the crack, hearing a pair of footsteps draw near. A ruby glow preceded the solid red figure it haloed. The red Deftera, clearly female, stepped into his field of vision. Her deep orange hair was spiked just to the nape of her neck, swaying slightly as she looked about. Clothes of the same color tightly hugged her frame, much less humble than those of the blue Deftera girl, covering little more than the essentials.

Another figure was with her, a male with spiked hair and clothes matching his companion. Fortunately, the apparel below his belt was a bit more modest, going down to his ankles where it was cut off by a pair of charcoal boots. His hand formed on the girl's fleshy hip and the two turned towards one another, breaking into a passionate kiss. Their make out session grew, oblivious to Derek's inward cringes.

"They're so . . . horny . . ." he grumbled quietly.

He looked nervously at the extinguisher. "Well, here goes something."

He moved slowly towards the opening, watching as they stood completely distracted. He burst through the door and sent a spray of foam at them. A gnarled, electric screech came from them both and they brought their arms up to guard them. His upper hand was short lived and the foam stream sputtered as it ran low.

In a panicked motion, Derek whipped the extinguisher by the hose and blindly brought it down towards the two. His attack was brought to a halt as the canister was caught firmly in a red hand. Derek froze up in spite of the fiery eyes that glared him down. He had only a second to lock up when the male Deftera yanked the extinguisher and the hand that still tightly gripped the hose. Derek pitched forward, a searing pain engulfing in the right side of his stomach before he thought to let go.

He stumbled back, tenderly clutching where the blazing punch had struck him. He was quick to regret that. His fingers twitched away from the wound as he hissed. That was about all the time he was allotted to suffer. As he stumbled back, a bright glow of orange drew his gaze towards the angry pair. The male Deftera's fist was engulfed in a small flame.

Derek scrambled on his feet and turned to run the other way. He had only gotten a few steps when he pitched forward and screamed in pain.

His right shoulder burned and the combined searing from that of his gut brought him down. He collapsed to the floor, the cool linoleum providing some feeble relief to his charred flesh. That did not last long. As Derek propped himself up ever so slightly, he saw a bright red figure appear in the polished floor, just behind his own reflection. His eyes widened as he saw Deftera's fist reared back, ready to land with another blazing punch. He rolled away, narrowly avoiding the hit.

The punch cracked the floor, causing the tiles and concrete to crumble underneath them. The red male crashed through but Derek was able to grasp an edge of the jagged hole. Pain biting his tensed muscles, he grunted through it and struggled to pull himself up. He managed to prop his elbows onto the floor when a hand closed around his collar.

The lady red Deftera pulled him up, choking him as she dragged him to a room and threw him against the wall. She pushed into his injured shoulder, silencing his broken hisses as she engulfed his mouth. He squirmed under her spicy kiss, trying not to let the taste fog his mind. He reached for his med pack only to have his hand grabbed.

"Guh!" the pained gasp pushed through his teeth as he was slammed to the floor.

She straddled him, blocking his reach to the med pack. She gently traced his mouth with her finger, forcing him to look into her churning eyes. A swirl of red and yellow danced within, projecting an unsavory amount lust and passion. She pressed her lips to his again as her hot nails slipped under his scrubs, clawing him playfully. Though gentle, the nails left burns in their path and his struggles only aggravated his wounds.

The electric hum from before sounded from the hall, more beautiful in its sound thought it was clearly irate. The lady red pulled away from him, smiling and pressing a warm finger to his lips. She slowly got up from him and went to the hall.

Derek tried to get up, but the burns proved too much. His breath was uneven and labored in response to the pain, leaving him unable to take in enough to retain consciousness. He somewhat welcomed the darkness, as it dulled the agony from his mind.

-----

Sidney gripped the "report" the British Navy had handed over to him.

Eidoth International was a front for Delphi's research, shocking perhaps, but nothing they did not know already. They were hiding something. Whatever it was, they had no right to do so, not when two of his best employees had suffered because of it.

He reached for the phone, mentally swearing to himself that there would be hell to pay if he did not get answers.

"Chief!"

He looked up to see Tyler standing at his office door. "What's going on, Dr. Chase?"

"It's Derek! His vitals are dropping like a rock!"

He stood up quickly, tipping his office chair from his abrupt and rigid move. "What happened, Chase?"

"We're not sure." He followed Sidney's swift walk to the recovery ward, doubling his own steps to keep up. "One minute he was stable and the next, his blood pressure started going down."

"Who's seeing to him?"

"Dr. Clarks. He's trying to stabilize him and figure out what caused it."

A frantic buzz from the monitors sounded down the hall. The air pulsated around them as they drew near, all but slamming them head on when they entered the room. Dr. Clarks and Leslie were at Derek's bedside, the surgeon himself just as still as ever, though his already weakened breath seemed to grow shallower by the second. "Hang the IV drip, Leslie."

"Yes, Doctor."

She quickly did as Stephen commanded while he injected a shot of adrenaline into Derek's other hand. His vitals rose slightly, only to drop just as quickly, hitting zero as his heart stopped completely.

"Leslie, power the defibrillator!"

Stephen immediately began chest compressions while the defibrillator charged. Tyler gritted his teeth, his eyes large as he watched his best friend flat line. Sidney's hands merely clenched at his sides, his expression stoic.

"Clear!"

Leslie moved in with the paddles once Stephen stepped away. Derek's body twitched from the shock, as did the electrocardiograph, which began beeping rhythmically. A collective sigh was heard as his pulse returned, his breathing becoming steadier as well. "Dr. Clarks, his vitals . . ."

He looked up at Leslie eyeing the monitors strangely. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing . . . they're rising . . ."

True enough, Derek's vitals were slowly climbing out of the danger zone, his over all readings stabilizing as well. "Glad that's over with." Tyler breathed.

"Don't relax just yet, Dr. Chase." Sidney said. "He could crash again at any time. Keep monitoring him and let me know if this happens again."

"Hey Chief."

All eyes turned towards the voice, seeing Victor stand in the door way, his arms crossed into his usual pose.

"I just finished analyzing Stiles' blood sample. You're gonna want to see this."

-----

Having been burned and violated by a pair of fire elementals, Derek was not expecting to be shivering when he woke up. Yet, the first thing he noticed was the chattering of his teeth. As something cold was pressed against his chest, he could have assumed it was a bag of ice was it not surprisingly soft. He opened his eyes and found a different ceiling brushed by a blue glow above him. _Blue . . .? Blue! Deftera!_

No sooner had his eyes starting scanning the room did he find them locked with a pair of cerulean. The female blue Deftera was beside him, but she simply smiled as she continued pressing against his stomach. "Wh-what are you doing?" he stuttered, confused and freezing. He moved to push himself up, but she placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down.

It was only after she pressed into his shoulder that Derek noticed the significant reduction of pain he was in. Lifting his head slightly, he saw his scrubs had been unbuttoned, leaving his torso exposed and burn clearly visible. He watched as the wound slowly receded and left healed skin behind. A soothing coolness rippled from where her hand was pressed, taking his pain away.

He blinked when not a trace of the burn was left on his abdomen, his shoulder following suit.

"Why? Why did you heal me?" he looked up at her with a severe expression. "What are you trying to pull?"

Her face remained calm as she slowly traced his cheek. He visibly shuddered at her icy touch and his exposed chest. Her look turned sympathetic as she reached for a bundled blanket at the foot of the cot, smiling warmly as she wrapped it around him.

Derek was too befuddled to protest, and the warm blanket _was_ nice, but he found himself back away as she moved in for another kiss. He placed a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back as she sat up. He reached for his med pack but felt only his bare hip.

"Where's my headset?" he murmured and looked down. His gaze was brought back up as he watched her move away. She turned towards a chair, where his headset was propped. Derek closed his scrubs and took it as she handed it to him, buckling the belt around his waist and draping the headset around his neck once again. He looked back up at her as she continued to smile at him.

"Um . . .so . .?" He looked her over, noticing her disarmed pose. "You got a name?"

A short giggle escaped her, causing her hair to bounce slightly. A soft chime came from her, both inhuman and serene in its sound.

"Crystal . . ." he murmured, the sparkling stone forming in his mind at the sound. His eyes instantly grew large.

_Dammit! Don't go around naming it! It's a tumor causing murderer!_

He looked up at her. _No matter how beautiful she looks . . . it's just a disease . . ._

Crystal moved towards him and Derek grabbed the hands that moved to frame his face. "Hey. None of that."

A loud crash from the door startled them both. They looked towards the entrance as a potent blue shine thrust within. The male blue Deftera's had already worn a tense expression upon bursting into the room. It loosened up as his eyes flickered between Derek, Crystal and their held hands. The tension returned to his face with a vengeance, angrier than before.

"Uh oh!"

Derek leapt off the cot just as it broke under an icy blast. The Deftera cleared the distance between the door and Crystal in a single jump, the floor quacking slightly upon his landing. He stood protectively before her, a blizzard swirling in his eyes. The aura around him grew and brightened, casting tiny ice shards within the swirling winds.

Derek rushed for the door, heart pounding as he slammed it behind him. He only managed to take a single step before he found himself propelled down the hall, the door, frame and pieces of the wall joining him as they were blown off. He crumpled amongst the pile of broken wood, groaning slightly at his rough spill. A pair of rushed footsteps drew his attention forward, allowing him to also see a flicker of red light move in time with the sounds. "Red Deftera . . ." he growled, looking back as he heard the blue versions closing in from behind. "This could get ugly."

A patch of shadows behind a garbage can and sink caught his eye. Not the best places for hiding, but was something. He rushed and ducked behind it as best he could just as the two auras spilled a light purple on the floor. The red and blue pairs stopped and locked eyes, their expressions unreadable. Derek shrunk back even farther, closing his eyes and bracing himself for the oncoming fight. He hoped they would finish each other off or the battle would move before things got too intense.

Having anticipated angry shouts or elemental blasts, he was surprised to hear the silence broken by a several retreating footsteps.

_Huh?_

Derek opened his eyes and watched as the blue Deftera pair walked away. The red pair had evidently done the same, based on the retreating red glow and footsteps. The surgeon had succumb to a perplexed induced quiet as the echoing clicks against the floor grew soft, a thin blanket of fluorescent white shining the hall in the colored lights' wake.

Long after both sets had disappeared and left him in silence, Derek had still not emerged from his hiding spot. He stared blankly at a wall across from him with chin resting in the palm of his hand and his mind churning. "Why didn't they fight?" he murmured. "Red and blue Deftera are usually really aggressive towards each other." His soft sigh echoed in the small confines of his hiding places. He knit his brows, drumming his fingers on his cheek.

_Maybe . . . they didn't have a reason to fight . . ._

That simple musing flicked a switch. Derek shot up slightly as his mind traced over various images of the Deftera.

The blue pair holding hands when he first spotted them . . .

The red pair aggressively making out . . .

The fondness the females of both pairs seemed to have for him . . .

And the jealous rage of the blue male when he found him holding his companion's hands.

"But that doesn't mean I can't give them a reason to!"

-----

Though Derek's search of the building started out rigorous, his nerves were starting to get the better of him. To say that his plan was risky would be putting it mildly. Regretfully, the threat of failure was not the only thing making him nervous.

He suppressed his shaking as he crept down the hall, forcing it to still as best he could when he spotted a flicker of red light down the hall. He took a deep breath. "Okay, here we go."

He pressed himself to the wall and stuck to the fading shadows. He carefully made his way to the end of the hall, where it forked off in two opposite directions. The red pair was not far down the left turn of the hall. Derek was able to watch them from a reflection in a window where the hall ended. While it was not surprising that they were making out once again, he could not help but shudder at it.

_Ugh . . . gotta get him away from her._

His search for a diversion was cut short when he noticed the Research and Development lab just across from him. He quietly made his way over to the door, smiling as he saw the arsenal of lab equipment at his disposal. His smile dropped when he spotted something on the far side of the room. "What the crap?" he mumbled, making his way towards it. He blinked slightly as he reached it before his eyes narrowed in annoyance. "They get an espresso machine?" He snorted and smacked the side of the machine with his hand. "We can't even have a Mr. Coffee in the break room, and _they_ get an espresso machine!"

He sighed and began looking around again. "Well, at least I don't have to feel guilty about breaking Victor's lab equipment now." He ran his fingers along the counter, drumming them slightly as he scanned the shelves. He stopped at a workstation and slid a long glass beaker from the stand. "This should do nicely."

The red Deftera pair was still at it when he emerged from the lab, beaker in hand. Pressing his back against the wall again, he slipped towards the edge of it and observed them in the window, trying not to feel like a voyeur in the process. Their eyes were closed as they deepened their kiss, pivoting slightly in one another's arms. As the male's back slowly turned towards him, Derek stepped from the corner of the wall and hurled the beaker over their heads. He stepped back immediately, catching a short glimpse of it spiraling in the window before it faded into darkness. A tiny shatter of glass perked the Deftera from their embrace and drew their gaze towards the end of the hall.

_Okay, good. Now I . . ._

Derek's thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash. With large eyes, he listened as additional glass shards and metal crashed against the floor, causing a loud rumble to shake the walls. His eyes were still wide as the sound faded and the reflection in the window had shown the two rushing towards the corridor's end.

_Uh . . . ooops._

He recovered from his blunder, seeing the pair reach the end of another forked passage and split up. "Well, it worked." he murmured. He followed on fast but light footsteps, pausing slightly to survey the damage. A wall clock lay among the shards of its glass face and the beaker, entangled in the wires of another machine which he could only assume had caused a domino effect. Shrugging the incident off, he glanced down each hall just in time to see the male Deftera enter a room.

Derek moved down the opposite hall, sticking behind the remaining clutter for coverage. He slowed as he closed in on a red aura. The female red had her hands on her exposed hips, throwing her head back and forth.

_Ugh . . . I do not want to do this . . _

He took a breath and pushed himself through the urge to recoil. He stiffly tapped her on the shoulder, pressing his lips to hers the moment she turned. She became rigid under his forward move as did Derek, thinking for a moment that he had made a grave mistake. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck after a few strained seconds. Though relieved about not having his various body parts being charred and ripped apart, Derek had to suppress a cringe as she lapped the inside of his mouth.

He stroked her warm hair and pulled from her embrace as slowly as possible. Throwing on a suggestive smirk, he squeezed her hand and jogged down the hall, motioning her to follow him in a playful round of tag. She grinned hungrily as well, tossing her hair back as she ran after him.

As he led her on the cat and mouse chase, Derek could not help but get a sick feeling in his stomach. For all his academic skills, Tyler had been quite the tease with the female student body during their college days. While Derek did admire his friend, if there was one trait he did not want to copy, it was this. _If he ever finds out bout this somehow, he'll never let me live it down._

The chase lasted several minutes, Derek allowing himself to get caught a few times to keep her interested. He began getting nervous as the time passed, fearing that mild groping and tongue kisses would soon not be enough to sate her lust. It seemed to be getting to that point. He allowed her to catch him again, finding his body pressed against the wall as her inner thigh rubbed against his Southern regions. His involuntary grumble was swallowed as she all but shoved her tongue down his throat. Sweat began to collect on his brow.

A blue light caught his eye. He moved his glance toward it as best he could, feeling his heart jolt in relief as he noticed it silhouetted by a single, female figure.

_Oh thank God . . _

He pushed back into the red Deftera's kiss. Slowly running his hands down her waist, he fingered the band of the shorts that barely covered her hips and legs. He felt her body quiver in excitement and caught her hands just as the moved to undo his belt. He looked into her eyes, pressing a finger over his forced smirk before motioning for her to follow him once again. He broke into an abrupt sprint and her compliant footsteps followed after him.

Turning the corner where the blue aura had disappeared, he took a quick glance over his shoulder.

_No good, she's following too close. I was hoping to save this for an emergency, but . . ._

Derek turned his eyes forward and narrowed them, drawing the star shape in his mind. With his surroundings grey and sluggish, he was easily able to put the necessary distance between himself and the lady red. Another turn of a corner revealed Crystal, her back turned towards him and thankfully alone.

_Why is she alone anyway?_

The small musing found its way into his mind as he caught glimpse of the side of her face. A somber mask coated it as her eyes carelessly scanned the wall.

_Maybe her boyfriend's mad at her . . . although . . ._

In the midst of his Healing Touch, the short flashes that played in his mind retained a colorless state, reminiscent of an old film reel. He saw her eyes widen in fear upon their first meeting, just before he turned to see her male companion attack. He saw that again after she had healed him, when he barged in on the both of them in the recovery room. In that frantic moment, Derek was too preoccupied with getting out alive to notice what his subconscious mind had picked up. Crystal had placed a hand on the blue male's shoulder, her eyes scared and pleading for the surgeon to be spared.

_Wait! What the hell am I doing?_ Derek reprimanded himself, ripping the mental film reel in two. _I'm not starting to feel _sorry_ for it, am I? It's not human! It's a disease! A deadly disease! _He let out a short breath. _It has to be destroyed!_

Derek squeezed his eyes shut, releasing the Healing Touch and reopening them to a world of color. He reached out for her hand, gently tugging on it as she jumped in surprise. Her startled expression turned to a warm, shy smile upon being turned around to face him. He returned the smile, cradling her cheek as he leaned in for a gentle kiss. Crystal relaxed in his hold and timidly returned it. As he invited her minty tongue into his mouth, and she shyly obliged the request, Derek decided he liked kissing Crystal more than the red Deftera female.

_But she's just a disease! _He reminded himself, his heart skipping as her cool hands moved to caress his face. _Just a disease . . _

A squeak sounded against the floor behind them.

They broke off their kiss with a gasp, turning to see a shuddering crimson figure. The female red's eyes widened as they frantically darted between Derek and Crystal. Her lips trembled from the betrayal, becoming still as they were pulled back into a snarl. A tiny gasp escaped Crystal as the fiery eyes were locked with hers. She launched forward, roughly pushing Derek to the floor as her flame engulfed fist slammed into Crystal's stomach.

A high pitched cry emitted from her as she stumbled back several paces. Pain and fear contorted her face for only a split second. As her cerulean eyes took in the attacker, they narrowed and squeezed out an aqua glow. Throwing her hands forward, Crystal let out a blizzard of ice at the charging Deftera. The red screeched and covered her face from the attack. Flames erupted from her wrists as she swatted at the icy shards, leaving the two in a power struggle.

Derek watched as the evenly matched Deftera girls pressed on with their attacks. "Well, that takes care of them." he whispered, gradually slipping away unnoticed and backing behind a corner. "Now, how to deal with the . . ." he stopped as he turned, finding himself faced with a potent red light. The raised, blazing fist instantly grabbed his attention. "Crap!"

He barely dodged the punch, leading the male red back to the struggle between the ladies. Derek braced himself as he felt a fury swipe charge behind him. He prepared to evade it, but was surprised when the male charged passed him completely. _What the . . ?_

The arched brow he had quickly rose in shock as he watched the male dive in, slamming a fiery blast directly into Crystal's chest, sending her flying. "Hey!" Derek yelled, his shout ignored by the red Deftera that perused their airborne adversary. Disease or not, ganging up on someone like that was cheap.

He followed them into an OR, seeing Crystal struggle to her feet as the other pair prepared to double team her again. Growling, Derek rushed to a sink and turned the water pressure up as far as it would go. The arrogant smirks of the red pair were quickly torn from their faces as a spray of cold water sizzled against their flesh. "Not that I expected you bastards to fight fair, but we're playing under my rules now." Derek gritted his teeth as he moved in with the sink hose.

As the red Deftera flailed under the water jet, Derek turned his gaze to Crystal, who had risen to her feet. "Hey, let 'em have it!" he yelled to her. She looked over to him, giving him a smile and nod before turning her attention to her enemies. Though her battered body stumbled a bit as she powered another ice blast, it drew a cry of pain from the two upon its launch.

The perturbed red couple did not tolerate their assault for long. An angry duet preceded a fiery blast, cutting through the steam that enveloped them and throwing their opponents back. The streams of water and ice protected Derek and Crystal from a full barrage of the fire, but the resulting steam was painful all the same. Derek pushed himself up, the water hose whipping around wildly from the pressure. He was instantly downed again as it smacked him across the face and sent his glasses flying.

Ignoring the surgeon, the red Deftera couple moved in on Crystal, grinning as they watched her slowly try to sit up. She had just pushed herself to her elbows when the red female's flame drenched hand caught her frightened eye. She gasped, squirming back as the fire blast charged. The blood thirsty glint in her eyes was short lived, as a blue light directly struck the red Deftera. Her lithe frame crashed against the opposite wall, leaving the remaining three to turn to where the hit had come from.

The blue male stood in the doorway, his eyes still raging a blizzard white. Derek had just recovered his glasses and watched the stare down between the two men. Growing uneasy, he saw the girls do the same, their fists starting to glow with their respected colors. "Oh no."

He had just managed to scramble behind an over turned cot when all hell broke loose. Curling and covering his head, he braced himself as the savage battle raged on. A flinch overcame him with every pained yell or deadly hit that sounded. Narrow misses caused him to withdraw even further and murmur whispered hopes that his shield would remain intact. He dared not try to run from the room. Time drew out forever as the violent scuffle crashed about the walls.

It ended with frightening abruptness, just as it had begun.

The harrowing screams died to silence. All movement ceased. Derek slowly lifted his head. The bright colored lights that had engulfed the room settled to a tiny murmur of blue. "Blue?" he whispered, seeing the soft glow illuminate the otherwise pitch black room.

Then he heard it.

A pained gasp rustled the quiet. Feeble scrapes pawed at hard floor, coupled by mild sobbing. Derek stood and looked over the cot, shock splitting his face. "My God . . ."

Crystal lay mangled amid the bodies of her partner and the red Deftera. The forms of the deceased had grown completely black, looking as burned out embers or hollow stones. Crystal, on the other hand, retained her serene glow, though the range on her aura diminished and had given her a ghostly presence. Another pained cry came from her as she locked eyes with Derek. Her gnarled hand trembled, trying to reach out for him, only to fall limply to the floor.

Derek walked towards her, kneeling beside her and noticing a large tear in her side. He hissed at it, noticing thick sparkling liquid ooze from it. Her blood, he assumed. A shaking breath fluttered from her lips as her entire frame trembled. He looked into the rippling pool of her eyes as tears flooded over her cheeks. Derek sighed, unsure of what to do with himself.

She was a disease. Just a horrible, murderous, disease . . .

Still, he gently grasped her hand, squeezing it and placing his other hand on her forehead. "Shhh." he whispered, flicking a tuft of her bangs from her salt soaked brow. Her quivering mouth formed a smile as she closed her eyes, her breath slowing to shallow but even gasps. Crystal's blue aura faded with each exhale, draping the two of them in unrelenting darkness until finally, it was gone.

-----

With a fluttered blink, Derek found himself back in the chamber. He instantly looked down at his patient, relieved to find Amy's lung completely healed and free of tumors. Her vitals were at a healthy 85 and a quick check of the chiral reaction revealed it to be negative. "Good." he sighed, suturing up the incision. A swift disinfecting coat of gel and bandage later, Amy was well on the path to recovery. The only thing now was for her to sleep and let her body take it from there.

"She's safe . . ." he murmured, drawing the sheet up to her chin. He let out an easy sigh as the color slowly seeped back into her face. "Poor girl, she's too young to have to go through this twice." He carefully brushed a few rouge bangs from her eye lashes, his smile dipping as unease churned inside of him.

"She's safe . . . . so why do I feel so terrible?"

-----

A/N: Crystal was sort of an interesting character to write. I was going to write a little synopsis about her here, but it ended up being a little too long, so I'll just leave it to you to interpret. I think she was probably one of my favorite minor characters to write about in my 5 plus years of writing fanfiction . . . and now she's deaded. Yet, we move on . . .

The next chapter is going to be interesting, but it will probably be a while before its ready for posting. _Paying the Price_ will be updated in the meantime, so look forward to that.

I'm so mean to Derek, making all the GUILT want to have fun times with his man meats. Well, that's nothing compared to what I have in store for him. Man, I'm glad there's no Stiles Protection Agency, because I'd be on the top of their most wanted list with all the torture I put him through . . .

(Loud bangs on the door)

"We know you're in there, CGP!"

Ah crap! It's the Sheriff! Uh . . . I'm gonna have to flee to Mexico real quick. I'll see you all once I've settled in Rocky Point or something . . . hehehe . .(runs like the dickens)


End file.
